Haokan had received his leader's call to war. He put his helmet back on, buried his feelings deep in his heart, triple-locked the room where Feinigan's body lay, and went off to do his duty as an honest Kamist. Then he'd answered one request, then another, trying through action to stop thinking.
Until Grigri cornered him one evening while he was finishing preparing dinner:
- Wawa! That's enough now!
- Hmm? It'll be ready in a few minutes.
- I'm not talking about the meal! We have to say goodbye to Dad!
- ...
- I don't care! I'm the boss here, and the boss orders you to take her to Fairhaven beach tomorrow night! We're going to have this ceremony!
- But, Grigri, I haven't prepared anything.
- You just bring it. We don't care about the rest. And if you don't, I'll ask Zhen to make you!
Big blue sigh. He had no doubt that the child would use all her arguments to get what she wanted. And technically, she did indeed have the little badge saying she was in charge of the orphanage; an old joke of Feinigan's who'd found it hilarious to give that title to the youngest and most broken of the children at the time. This had not been a bad thing, allowing Gris to assert herself and gradually come out of her shell.
And she wasn't wrong. The spells and stanza to preserve the body would eventually disintegrate and that would be worse. He couldn't run from the end of the chore forever.
- Ukio, ukio... we'll do something simple between us. But the island southeast of Crystabell would be better, don't you think?
- Yeah, if you like. We'll have less to swim, I'm fine with that too.
So he had gone to the island as agreed, Feinigan's embalmed body on a mektoub. He could have carried it in his arms, but then he'd have a long way to go. He might as well finish this last journey in a hurry. He had been surprised to see that there were not only the dozen or so children who gravitated around the "Amicale Synarchique", but also many Trykers and people from other countries. Everyone seemed to have decided to party here... Grigri was already running towards him:
- There you are! Come on, let's put it over there.
- But... Grigri... why are these people here?
- Oh, yeah, wait, I have to tell them.
The trykette jumped up on a table while Haokan set down her burden, picked up a cornet to carry her delicate voice, and began her speech:
- Thank you all for coming! I told you all to bring picnics, drinks and parties. I hope everyone has what they need! But I didn't tell you why you had to come. It's in honor of my dad.
It was because Haokan was nearby that he saw the child clench his fists briefly, his eyes a little brighter. But Grisen had a fierce will and was not about to flinch. She continued, having barely paused:
- He's going on his last trip, but if there's an afterlife, you can be sure he'll be driving everyone crazy in the afterlife. My dad - Feinigan - he wasn't my father, that I ever knew, but he was the best father I could have had. It's no fun for me to know that he won't be there to teach me how to put salt on izams' tails and avoid cloppers' claws. But I don't feel like crying tonight. I want to honor him, to show that I've learned what he could teach me, and then the rest too. Dad liked people to be free and happy. And to annoy them, too. I'm sure you've got lots of anecdotes about the niches he made and the weird stories he told. So, sure, he's a pain in the ass to leave us like this, but I'm sure he's left us plenty to laugh about tonight, too. So, let's party!
She jumped down onto the sand, dropping the megaphone to grab a firework, which she expertly lit in front of the stunned crowd. And as the device exploded in a spray of blazing colors, a few people began to applaud and cheer, soon followed by the others. The people of the lakes and their guests were not the type to miss an opportunity to celebrate, even if it was for an unusual pretext.
Haokan stayed close to the body in the hullabaloo, finding it almost harder than the child to hide his tears. He couldn't put on his helmet to hide his emotions, not tonight, but he couldn't flinch either. Others toasted his old friend, a few shared the mischief they'd been the victims of, the strange deals the tryker could make or even some tasty (if not indecent) anecdotes about him*.
He felt a small hand slip into his, then a second one on the other side. Grigri and Rena looked at him gravely. He leaned towards them, clutching the two trykettes to his heart.
- Poko'i... I'll have to leave the house to you for a while.
- We know, Wawa.
- Guzu...
- Don't worry. We're grown-ups.
A strange statement from a 10-year-old trykette, not very tall even by her breed's standards, almost overtaken by her 5-year-old younger sister. But Grisen's eyes showed that it had been a long time since she was really a child, despite the efforts Feinigan, Haokan and Zhen had made to allow her to be carefree. Rena was better off, because they'd had her when she was just an infant, but tonight the teasing sparkle in her eyes was extinguished.
- You're all grown up, yui... But you still need an adult now and then. Except that...
- Don't worry, I'm telling you, Wawa. There's Krill, and then Zhen, and then there's the big ones too, and... anyway, we know what's dangerous, how to survive and all that. Go do what you have to do, we'll be here when you get back. You're just the biggest of his children, Wawa, and the only one who can cross the Shadow Road right now. And our job is to make sure you have a home to come back to.
- Oh, Grigri...
Yes, everyone was there tonight, and many were keen to show their sympathy. Gestures of comfort, from the most expansive like Zhen, who almost smothered him with her cuddling, to the most distant, like all those who knew that Haokan was quick to pull out the axe and get annoyed when he felt too much pressure.
And it was too much. Too much for him. Too many people, too much attention, and no room to express his grief. He finally raised the bhyr in his hand to ask to speak (slipped in by a tryker either being facetious or unaware of Haokan's distaste for alcohol of any kind). And found himself dumbfounded by the silence. He just wanted to save himself, not make a speech. He had the pact at his fingertips, but...
A little phrase from Feinigan, in his last letter, kept running through his mind. A sentence that fitted in well with the present moment. The tryker's last demand.
In front of his stunned relatives, Haokan raised the bhyr higher, as if to toast the departed, then swallowed it in one gulp. He couldn't hold back the grimace of disgust and the shudder of his body taking offense at the bitterness produced, but Feinigan had told him to drink to his memory when the call of the Void was strong, so...
And that gave him the strength to speak:
- Ukio, ukio. Here's to... well... to the memories of my friend! A pain in the ass to the end. I must leave you now, I have a long journey ahead of me, with our guest of honor. And born, I don't feel like company. But there's still bokuu of bhyr and victuals, so please, keep the party going for me, so that laughter accompanies us on this beginning of the road. Ari'kami for coming, all of you.
He reinstalled the body on the mektoub and set off in the direction of the Loria. Zhen quickly joined him:
- Not so fast, wait for me. I've had too much to drink, haha, you'll have to give me a moment.
- Guzu, Zhen. No, not there. I really want to be alone. Which means without you too.
- But, zaki...
Haokan paused for a moment, just long enough for her husband to reach her. He took him in his arms, gave him a big, passionate moai, before pushing him away with tenderness:
- Guzu, zaki. But if you come with me, you'll distract me. There are bokuu of days when that's fine. But right now, I really need to make this last journey with... him... Ukio? To get through this grief so he doesn't stay with me forever, and to cross Atys to do it.
Zhen's sad look was eloquent. Yet he also understood what Haokan was asking. Caressing his mask tenderly, the Illuminated One clarified:
- Ukio, it's your way. If you need anything, you send me an izam. Even if it's just for a hug on the way, okay? Especially for a hug...
- All right. I promise. I will. Take care of the kids for me. Don't let them taste your candy! I'll be back. But I'll need some time.
- If you take too long, I'll come and get you. He didn't want you to get depressed.
- I know, I know... Mata, zaki.
- Mata népuké.
Until Grigri cornered him one evening while he was finishing preparing dinner:
- Wawa! That's enough now!
- Hmm? It'll be ready in a few minutes.
- I'm not talking about the meal! We have to say goodbye to Dad!
- ...
- I don't care! I'm the boss here, and the boss orders you to take her to Fairhaven beach tomorrow night! We're going to have this ceremony!
- But, Grigri, I haven't prepared anything.
- You just bring it. We don't care about the rest. And if you don't, I'll ask Zhen to make you!
Big blue sigh. He had no doubt that the child would use all her arguments to get what she wanted. And technically, she did indeed have the little badge saying she was in charge of the orphanage; an old joke of Feinigan's who'd found it hilarious to give that title to the youngest and most broken of the children at the time. This had not been a bad thing, allowing Gris to assert herself and gradually come out of her shell.
And she wasn't wrong. The spells and stanza to preserve the body would eventually disintegrate and that would be worse. He couldn't run from the end of the chore forever.
- Ukio, ukio... we'll do something simple between us. But the island southeast of Crystabell would be better, don't you think?
- Yeah, if you like. We'll have less to swim, I'm fine with that too.
So he had gone to the island as agreed, Feinigan's embalmed body on a mektoub. He could have carried it in his arms, but then he'd have a long way to go. He might as well finish this last journey in a hurry. He had been surprised to see that there were not only the dozen or so children who gravitated around the "Amicale Synarchique", but also many Trykers and people from other countries. Everyone seemed to have decided to party here... Grigri was already running towards him:
- There you are! Come on, let's put it over there.
- But... Grigri... why are these people here?
- Oh, yeah, wait, I have to tell them.
The trykette jumped up on a table while Haokan set down her burden, picked up a cornet to carry her delicate voice, and began her speech:
- Thank you all for coming! I told you all to bring picnics, drinks and parties. I hope everyone has what they need! But I didn't tell you why you had to come. It's in honor of my dad.
It was because Haokan was nearby that he saw the child clench his fists briefly, his eyes a little brighter. But Grisen had a fierce will and was not about to flinch. She continued, having barely paused:
- He's going on his last trip, but if there's an afterlife, you can be sure he'll be driving everyone crazy in the afterlife. My dad - Feinigan - he wasn't my father, that I ever knew, but he was the best father I could have had. It's no fun for me to know that he won't be there to teach me how to put salt on izams' tails and avoid cloppers' claws. But I don't feel like crying tonight. I want to honor him, to show that I've learned what he could teach me, and then the rest too. Dad liked people to be free and happy. And to annoy them, too. I'm sure you've got lots of anecdotes about the niches he made and the weird stories he told. So, sure, he's a pain in the ass to leave us like this, but I'm sure he's left us plenty to laugh about tonight, too. So, let's party!
She jumped down onto the sand, dropping the megaphone to grab a firework, which she expertly lit in front of the stunned crowd. And as the device exploded in a spray of blazing colors, a few people began to applaud and cheer, soon followed by the others. The people of the lakes and their guests were not the type to miss an opportunity to celebrate, even if it was for an unusual pretext.
Haokan stayed close to the body in the hullabaloo, finding it almost harder than the child to hide his tears. He couldn't put on his helmet to hide his emotions, not tonight, but he couldn't flinch either. Others toasted his old friend, a few shared the mischief they'd been the victims of, the strange deals the tryker could make or even some tasty (if not indecent) anecdotes about him*.
He felt a small hand slip into his, then a second one on the other side. Grigri and Rena looked at him gravely. He leaned towards them, clutching the two trykettes to his heart.
- Poko'i... I'll have to leave the house to you for a while.
- We know, Wawa.
- Guzu...
- Don't worry. We're grown-ups.
A strange statement from a 10-year-old trykette, not very tall even by her breed's standards, almost overtaken by her 5-year-old younger sister. But Grisen's eyes showed that it had been a long time since she was really a child, despite the efforts Feinigan, Haokan and Zhen had made to allow her to be carefree. Rena was better off, because they'd had her when she was just an infant, but tonight the teasing sparkle in her eyes was extinguished.
- You're all grown up, yui... But you still need an adult now and then. Except that...
- Don't worry, I'm telling you, Wawa. There's Krill, and then Zhen, and then there's the big ones too, and... anyway, we know what's dangerous, how to survive and all that. Go do what you have to do, we'll be here when you get back. You're just the biggest of his children, Wawa, and the only one who can cross the Shadow Road right now. And our job is to make sure you have a home to come back to.
- Oh, Grigri...
Yes, everyone was there tonight, and many were keen to show their sympathy. Gestures of comfort, from the most expansive like Zhen, who almost smothered him with her cuddling, to the most distant, like all those who knew that Haokan was quick to pull out the axe and get annoyed when he felt too much pressure.
And it was too much. Too much for him. Too many people, too much attention, and no room to express his grief. He finally raised the bhyr in his hand to ask to speak (slipped in by a tryker either being facetious or unaware of Haokan's distaste for alcohol of any kind). And found himself dumbfounded by the silence. He just wanted to save himself, not make a speech. He had the pact at his fingertips, but...
A little phrase from Feinigan, in his last letter, kept running through his mind. A sentence that fitted in well with the present moment. The tryker's last demand.
In front of his stunned relatives, Haokan raised the bhyr higher, as if to toast the departed, then swallowed it in one gulp. He couldn't hold back the grimace of disgust and the shudder of his body taking offense at the bitterness produced, but Feinigan had told him to drink to his memory when the call of the Void was strong, so...
And that gave him the strength to speak:
- Ukio, ukio. Here's to... well... to the memories of my friend! A pain in the ass to the end. I must leave you now, I have a long journey ahead of me, with our guest of honor. And born, I don't feel like company. But there's still bokuu of bhyr and victuals, so please, keep the party going for me, so that laughter accompanies us on this beginning of the road. Ari'kami for coming, all of you.
He reinstalled the body on the mektoub and set off in the direction of the Loria. Zhen quickly joined him:
- Not so fast, wait for me. I've had too much to drink, haha, you'll have to give me a moment.
- Guzu, Zhen. No, not there. I really want to be alone. Which means without you too.
- But, zaki...
Haokan paused for a moment, just long enough for her husband to reach her. He took him in his arms, gave him a big, passionate moai, before pushing him away with tenderness:
- Guzu, zaki. But if you come with me, you'll distract me. There are bokuu of days when that's fine. But right now, I really need to make this last journey with... him... Ukio? To get through this grief so he doesn't stay with me forever, and to cross Atys to do it.
Zhen's sad look was eloquent. Yet he also understood what Haokan was asking. Caressing his mask tenderly, the Illuminated One clarified:
- Ukio, it's your way. If you need anything, you send me an izam. Even if it's just for a hug on the way, okay? Especially for a hug...
- All right. I promise. I will. Take care of the kids for me. Don't let them taste your candy! I'll be back. But I'll need some time.
- If you take too long, I'll come and get you. He didn't want you to get depressed.
- I know, I know... Mata, zaki.
- Mata népuké.